By KEITH WALTHER
Vista Publisher/Editor
Now that County government has fixed the awful road conditions and all those nasty potholes, the focus along Peavine Road now turns to its expansion.
The long-awaited widening of Peavine may finally be close at hand, according to County Mayor Kenneth Carey.
In a recent board meeting, Carey said that the project will likely begin around August and will take approximately 18 months to complete.
Bids will be taken for the work at hand, which will be arduous and will include the moving of VEC utility poles.
In 2012, The Vista reported that TDOT had approved Phase I of the project which will widen Peavine to five lanes from FireTower Roadto Lakeview Rd. — a distance of 2.9 miles.
Funding did not become available from the Federal coffers until October of last year. Construction bids were to go out in the final months of 2013 — but that was delayed.
But it appears now that, barring delays, bulldozers and other equipment will be rolling along Peavine Road this fall.
Phase II of the project will be from Lakeview Road to Westchester Road.
In all, it has been reported that Peavine will boast 10 to 12-inch paved shoulders along with two-inch curbs and sidewalks.
The Phase II survey was to be completed by the end of 2013.
If all goes well, both Phase I and Phase II construction could be completed as early as 2018. Or, perhaps sooner, if all goes well.